DEREK CARR
Dogruff @ Box Bar, Swansea
Sat 15 June
Swansea techno pushers Dogruff, who will be a decade old later this year, are seasoned sesh enablers. Certainly, this ain’t their first all-day rodeo, although it is the first one in the Box Bar on the Strand, a spot which has been picked out by local club promoters in recent months. (A brief trivial diversion: did you know the guy who founded the venue played scrum-half for the Tongan rugby team when they beat Italy in the 1999 World Cup? I’d love to credit him for allowing a euphoric electronic marathon to happen in his gaff, but he doesn’t appear to be involved with it any longer.)
This event comes in two parts: a daytime party outdoors, located in Box’s courtyard from 2pm until 10 or 11 I’d imagine, then a continuation inside until 4am. That’s 14 hours on it, if you want it. Derek Carr, the marquee name on the lineup, will top off the daytime party with a live set fashioned from his own productions. From Westmeath in the Irish Midlands, Carr has been releasing records since 2001 – pretty much anything of his more than a few years old now sells for a chunk of change – and taking DJ bookings selectively, rather than voraciously.
Despite both DJing and making tracks for a good two decades, the notion of showcasing himself in a club setting seems to have come to Carr only recently (he’s previously said that playing his own music appeals less to him on account of having listened to it so much), and as such, Dogruff will host one of his first ever such performances. While sometimes veering into the jacking or the acidic, his productions are most often expansive, analogue works which bow down to the pioneers of Detroit techno – robotic yet soulful, a paradox that makes total sense if you dig the likes of Model 500, Derrick May, later adopters of the sound like Aril Brikha or European bleepers like B12.
A classy affair underscored by supports Lewis James, Marlon Clark, Luke Tainton and Dan Knight outside; Mora, Mikki James and Amy Amor indoors.
Tickets: £15/£10. Info: facebook.com/dogruff1
words Noel Gardner